1. Plextor M5S 128GB Solid-State Drive ($139)
2. WD Green 2TB Harddisk ($119)
Shopowner was the legendary man whom the forumers kept talking about! Very good service, even got a $7 discount for buying the above two items.
Add on a SSD bracket for $10...
Total damage = $262
I think sooner or later I got to upgrade the HDD because the present 500 GB (bought in May 2009) is not enough to store all my personal stuff + OS. So no matter if the HDD spoiled or not, I have to buy a bigger storage version to continue store my things.
Also, at the same time, ported myself over to Windows 7. Yeah, I'm 4 years late. But that's no problem, as Windows 8 is a disappointment, so I stick to Windows 7 instead. It's a great OS, better than XP in many ways.
As for SSD, I want to try out how advance this technology is. And lots of people recommend doing a dual-disk setup. SSD for OS + program, the rest go to conventional HDD. Due to SSD's limited storage space, I only install OS and programs in it. Even for iTunes backup, I've already shifted it to the 2TB HDD (D drive). Indeed, it shortens my startup time by a lot! Now, the ASUS motherboard logo is displayed longer than the Windows 7 loading logo. The whole cold startup time, errr, actually I didn't go time it, but I guess it's less than 30 seconds. Installing programs also almost lightning fast!
The iTunes is the biggest worry among all as it manages my MP3 files by keeping a playlist and also iPhone/iPad backup files. So what happened after format? Everything's gone, so I think to think of a way to put it back and trick it to work as per normal even though it's on a different harddisk now.
First is to copy the backup files and the iTunes folder insider My Documents\My Music. Then restore them back to where they are as specified default by Apple. Next, as the iTunes folder and iPhone/iPad backup files are installed to C drive by default and I don't want lots of write operations on SSD and taking too much space in it, I got to move them to D drive. The iTunes folder is easy - by specifying the location under iTunes preference.
The backup files are trickier as Apple didn't allow users to customize the location for these. So I did google up and found something new: the mklink command to create symbolic link. It means the programs actually see the folder there, but in fact the folder is somewhere else. Think of it as a program shortcut to the corresponding program.
How about photos and videos sync to the devices? I didn't back them up as they are duplicates of the originals. Can always copy them back to save time.
The last thing is iTunes knew something has happened to the system and asked if I should merge the data with this 'user account' (in fact this user account is stored in my older harddisk) or to replace the information with the data on this phone. I chose the first one.
And volia! Now iTunes works like a charm, it was much easier than I thought to be. All in all, I guess I learnt quite a few important things during this computer upgrade as it is my first time trying to mingle the computer system on my own. (EEE student should know how to do this mah!) Pretty easy. Guess connecting up different components to the motherboard in a fresh install is even easier. Haha!
The next thing is should I go hoot the Dell UltraSharp 2412M IPS monitor? This has been in my mind for quite some time already. I really like the big screen estate 23/24" monitors could offer and Windows 7 can do cascading windows side-by-side very easily so that I can do my stuff faster and easier. On top of that, the IPS panel means the colors are much more accurate than TN panels. But this would set me back some $360. :(
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